EMT class for teens with a dream to aid the community

Julianna Corso’s career path is medicine. Ava Famiglietti plans to take over her father’s auto body shop. Already a Bayville firefighter, Tommy Placilla, who will be at Nassau Community College next fall, hopes to become an athletic trainer. What the three Locust Valley High School seniors have in common, besides being 17, is a passion for community. They are among nine students who have been taking an emergency medical technician class after school since January. It is part of the district’s curriculum, and the students will receive credit for the course. They will attend 44 sessions, and if they pass the test at the end of June, they will become state-certified EMTs.

Kyra Schmeizer, 17, from Locust Valley, a high school cheerleader, plans to be a neurosurgeon. She said she loves the class for a variety of reasons. “In school I have to learn different subjects that are not what I want to learn,” she explained. “This is something I do want to learn. And because I want to be a neurosurgeon, I thought it would be a good start to learning the beginnings of health care.”

The instructor is Jason Vitulli, 40, a New York City firefighter and the chief of patrol for the Town of Hempstead Emergency Medical Services. An additional benefit for the students, he said, is that the class allows for an introduction to the medical field prior to pursuing a course of study. Typically, if someone attends a medical school, he said, they would not have contact with patients until the second or third year.

“With this program they will have patient contact in high school when they shadow an ER technician or a triage nurse one or two times in the emergency room for an eight-hour shift at a Nassau County hospital,” he said. “They will learn what the lungs sound like if someone is sick and about high blood pressure. The kids will have a skill set by then, and may even be called into the room to assist with CPR.”

The course, Vitulli said, is being run the same way as an EMT course in college and what is offered at the Nassau County Emergency Medical Services Academy. It is also free, unlike a college course. And when the seniors head off to college, they may attend one that uses student EMTs, he said. Fordham University’s ambulance is run by students, as is the ambulance at SUNY Binghamton. The class is also offered at Nassau BOCES and in the Plainview School District as an A.P. course, taken in lieu of a science class. Kellenberg Memorial High School also offers it after school.

Vitulli said that teaching the seniors is also rewarding on a personal level. “It re-energizes you to pass along something you’re passionate about to someone young,” he said. “And it’s nice to see someone who does want to learn something you find meaningful and rewarding.”

The students will learn about medication administration including what is given to those experiencing an asthma attack and how to perform intermuscular injections. The local fire department will bring an ambulance to the high school to allow student to learn how to use the equipment that emergency medical technicians use. And the students will master the use of a gluco-meter to check sugar levels in diabetics. They were learning about how to control bleeding on March 12.

Vitulli told the students to put on a pair of blue medical gloves because they would be wearing them in a real-life situation, and it isn’t as easy to perform a task with them on. The students were paired off to practice applying a dressing, which some found not as easy as they had imagined. One boy had to apply the gauze a second time because it was too loose the first time around. Another dropped the roll of gauze onto the floor. Seeing the struggles, Vitulli helped, adding that it wasn’t like rolling toilet paper. Smiling, the teens continued, determined to get it right.

“It can be awkward,” Vitulli said. “When controlling bleeding with different material, coordination is needed. And when you really do it, the bleeding doesn’t help the situation.”

During this lesson, the future EMTs learned about arterial bleeds, the difference between the terms “sterile” and “clean,” how to apply direct pressure on a wound, and what to do if a tourniquet isn’t working.

Famiglietti said she would like to volunteer for the Bayville Fire Company someday, adding that her father already does. “I really want to help people,” she said. “I like this class, the people and the teacher.”

She added that it can be difficult to balance the class and her other schoolwork, but it’s worth it. “I feel like this isn’t like school, where you don’t want to go,” she said. “You want to go to this.”

Vitulli continued. “There’s an active-shooter situation. You will be expected to help. In a hostile situation, we use a tourniquet. Go 2 to 3 inches away from the wound. You need to cut off circulation to cut off the blood flow . . .”

“I do like this class,” said Corso, watching Vitulli closely. “It’s really hard, but I’ll be able to help my community.”